QuickTake:

The 4J School Board approved a resolution that directs Superintendent Miriam Mickelson to begin planning for budget cuts for the 2027-28 school year. She will present proposed administrative cuts and schedule changes to the board in December and teacher and support staff cuts in February.

For a second year in a row, Eugene School District 4J is projecting a budget deficit of at least $30 million next school year — and district officials say it could be more. 

“I just want to say how indescribably hard it is to be having this conversation again, especially after the significant budget reductions that we made last year,” Superintendent Miriam Mickelson said at 4J’s Wednesday, Oct. 21, board meeting. “We have funding challenges and addressing them will take time, and regrettably, and painfully, require more difficult decisions.”

Bob Blyth, the district’s acting finance director, said the 2027-28 deficit might rise to $35 million, depending on how much money the 2027 legislative session allocates to schools. Upcoming bargaining with 4J’s teachers union adds another layer of budget uncertainty, as does the outcome of the gubernatorial race.

Those would follow steep cuts the board approved to balance the district’s budget this year. The reasons for the needed cuts are the same: ongoing enrollment decline, the end of COVID-era aid money and state funding that district officials say is inadequate.

Cautious projections

Board members and administrators were cautious when talking about 4J’s budget deficit at Wednesday’s meeting, mindful of last year’s miscalculation that added $16.4 million to the deficit. In Blyth’s slideshow, the words “PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO CHANGE” were typed in large letters. 

Several board members asked Blyth about the assumptions built into the deficit number. One of the assumptions is a cost-of-living increase for licensed staff, Blyth and Mickelson confirmed. Administrators could not go into detail because of upcoming bargaining.

Blyth said that, after talks with other school finance directors in large Oregon districts, he projected two possible funding scenarios, based on two possible changes to state education funding lawmakers could make during the next Oregon Legislative Session that starts in January:

  • An 8.5% increase in state funding = $29.6 million deficit
  • A 4.5% increase in state funding = $35.5 million deficit

Blyth said he would notify board members as quickly as possible if revenue or cost assumptions significantly change.

“Another thing that we learned from last year is that we cannot stop looking at things every single month,” Blyth said. “What is changing, how is it impacting us, making sure we’re coming back to you guys with anything that we see that’s material that’s going to move these numbers.”

Budget cut reveals

Much like last year, 4J will collect feedback from the school community and Mickelson will present planned budget reductions in phases this winter. Here is the plan:

  • Phase 1: In December, Mickelson will propose plans to change the high school bell schedule, in addition to leadership cuts and district department reductions.
  • Phase 2: In February, Mickelson will propose licensed and classified employee cuts. This includes teachers, support staff, specialists — most student-facing staff.
  • Phase 3: Sometime before the end of June, administrators and board members will make long-term plans to better position the district financially for the future.

Lilly is a graduate of Indiana University and has worked as a journalist at the Indianapolis Star and in Burlington, Vermont, as well as working as a foreign language teacher in France. She covers education and children's issues for Lookout Eugene-Springfield.